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In Austin they are putting in diverging diamonds where regular roads intersect the interstate going through town. One of those roads in particular (Parmer Lane)

by epage 3y ago

In Austin they are putting in diverging diamonds where regular roads intersect the interstate going through town. One of those roads in particular (Parmer Lane), they've been building out its sidewalk on the east side. So it is meant to for local pedestrian traffic except at the diverging diamond.

Bluestrike2 3y ago
I was curious and looked it up on Google Maps[0] and that's definitely not a road; it's a six-lane stroad[1] optimized solely for traffic flow. Those are really good at killing pedestrians because people perceive them as being wide open, all but inviting drivers to speed up. I'm guessing the diverging diamond replaced a bridge with two intersections? In which case, the oddity of the diverging diamond might at least serve as a traffic calming measure. Even when you get used to it, switching travel directions is uncomfortable for drivers which can force them to be a bit more cautious. That said, the new sidewalks in the satellite photos are probably a big improvement over the old ones (if there were any). They at least have some small curbs and ~2-4 feet of separation from the cars traveling at high speeds along the stroad. If you look at the sidewalks to the west, where there's no separation from the stroad, they're...well, at least not that? But for the most part, sidewalks alongside stroads are just an afterthought. 0. https://goo.gl/maps/ZytZNN7TumnHqozU9 https://goo.gl/maps/ZytZNN7TumnHqozU9 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroad
alistairSH 3y ago
Oh wow, what a mess. That whole area is a pedestrian (and car and bike and ...) nightmare. Yeah, there's a sidewalk, but it's like a square mile of car-centric asphalt wasteland. Even if you don't get Froggered on the frontage road sidewalk or Palmer at-grade crossings, you still have 1000 yards of distracted drivers to dodge in all those parking lots. Oof.

by epage 3y ago

Bluestrike2 3y ago

I was curious and looked it up on Google Maps[0] and that's definitely not a road; it's a six-lane stroad[1] optimized solely for traffic flow. Those are really good at killing pedestrians because people perceive them as being wide open, all but inviting drivers to speed up. I'm guessing the diverging diamond replaced a bridge with two intersections? In which case, the oddity of the diverging diamond might at least serve as a traffic calming measure. Even when you get used to it, switching travel directions is uncomfortable for drivers which can force them to be a bit more cautious. That said, the new sidewalks in the satellite photos are probably a big improvement over the old ones (if there were any). They at least have some small curbs and ~2-4 feet of separation from the cars traveling at high speeds along the stroad. If you look at the sidewalks to the west, where there's no separation from the stroad, they're...well, at least not that? But for the most part, sidewalks alongside stroads are just an afterthought. 0. https://goo.gl/maps/ZytZNN7TumnHqozU9 https://goo.gl/maps/ZytZNN7TumnHqozU9 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroad

alistairSH 3y ago

Oh wow, what a mess. That whole area is a pedestrian (and car and bike and ...) nightmare. Yeah, there's a sidewalk, but it's like a square mile of car-centric asphalt wasteland. Even if you don't get Froggered on the frontage road sidewalk or Palmer at-grade crossings, you still have 1000 yards of distracted drivers to dodge in all those parking lots. Oof.